Infants&#39; nursing device



March 18, 1958 s. BARACATE INFANTS NURSING DEVICE Filed June 4, 1953 /nventor-: Stphen Bar-acafe by M M Attorneys.

United States Patent 9 2,827,191 INFANTS NURSING DEVICE Stephen Baracate, Troy, N. Y.

Application June 4, 1953, Serial No. 359,596

3 Claims. (Cl. 215-11) This invention relates to an improved type of infant nursing device, adapted to be attached to a nursing bottle, having particular reference to a manually operable valve means thereon that can be adjusted before the device is applied to the bottle, selectively to regulate and control amounts of milk desired to pass therethrough between fully opened and closed positions of the valve, and the provision of such 'a device is a principal object of the invention.

Generally, it is an object of the invention to provide such a valve controlled device that is also equipped with air vents, and wherein the valve can be closed to prevent the passage of air, and the full collapse of the nipple, when the bottle has been emptied of its contents, whereby the device can be utilized as a pacifier, all without any appreciable danger of an infant getting colic.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide'such a device comprising a valve stopper, a tubular projection on one end of the stopper, having a valve seat therein, and adapted to receive a nipple thereon, a rotatable valve member carried by the stopper coaxially of, the tubular projection with a valve stem adapted to be brought into and out of engagement with the valve seat to open and close the valve, and means on the other end of the stopper, and coacting means cooperating therewith on the valve member, opposite the stem, selectively to regulate the movement of the stem betweenopened and closed position to determine the amount of liquid to flow through the nipple;

Another specific object of the invention is to provide such a valve device having a retaining cap adapted to be connected to a bottle to hold a nipple on the tubular projection and'the stopper valve in position in the neck of the bottle, the cap and the stopper preferably being provided with air vents in communication with each other and, adapted to communicate with the inside of the bottle.

Another sp'ecific' object of the'invention is to provide such a stopper valve with control means' such as a ramp, preferably in the form of ,a ,helicoidal segment, and means coacting therewith to operate as a oscillatable ratchet selectively toregulatethe movement of the valve stern between opened andclosed positions of the valveto determine the flow of liquid therethrough.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties, and the relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is an exploded perspective view illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of an infant nursing bottle having the device of Fig. 1 assembled in position thereon;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along the lines 44 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction ofthe arrows, with a fragmentary portion broken away; and

Fig.- 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along the lines 5--5 of Fig. 3, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, there is indicated at 10a glass-type of infant nursing bottle, having a valve type stopper 11, embodied by the invention, mounted in the neck of the bottle.

A tubular projection 12 is located on one end of the stopper, having a tapered valve seat 13 therein. The tubular projection is adapted to receive a conventional type of nipple 14 which, preferably, has thickened walls.

A rotatable valve member is indicated generally at 15, and constitutes a threaded body portion 16 adapted to be -mounted in threads provided therefor in the. stopper 11.

One or more holes 17 through the body portion 16 form passages for the flow of liquid into the tubular projection 12.

Coaxially extending from the body portion 16 is a valve stem 18 having a tapered portion 19 conforming to the taper of the valve seat 13 of the tubular projection 12, and the valve stem is adapted to project therebeyond a substantial distance into the nipple 14.

Rotation of the valve member 15 will fully open .or close the passage between the tubular projection 12 and the valve stem 18, 19. However, in order selectively to regulate and control the flow of liquid at any intermediate point between the fully opened and closed positions of the valve stem, the valve stopper 11, opposite the tubular projection 12, is provided with ramp means indicated generally at 20. Preferably, such a ramp means comprises two oppositely disposed helicoidal segments 21 and 22, having a plurality of holes such as, for example, depressions or cups 23 in spaced relation along their sloped surfaces.

Coacting with the. ramp means are ratchet means indicated generally at 24 on the valve member 15, opposite the valve stem 18 connected to the threaded body portion 16. Preferably, such ratchet means comprises one or more fingers 25 connected to a cross-head 26 on a stud 2'7 projecting from the threaded body portion 16 of the valve member 15. The ends of the fingers 25 are adapted frictionally to engage the ramp surface and to 'seat in position in the cups or depressions 23 to hold the valve member in any selected position. The valve member 15 and stopper 11 are preferably made of'any suitable plastic material as hereinafter set forth, including thefingers 25 which are of spindle-like construction, and therefore very resilient, so that, when the-valve isrotated ineitlie'r directiomthe-resilieiit fingers will-tend to be be'ntslightly in the opposite direction and drag along the high surfaces of the ramp segments 21 and 22 between depressions 23 and, when these depressions are reached by the fingers, the latter will snap into the depressions and assume a normal position. In other words, the fingers 25 are only straight, that is normal or perpendicular to the cross-head 26 with which they are integral, when the free ends are seated in the depressions 23; and are slightly bent or bowed when the valve member 15 is rotated as they are dragged out of the depressions, only to again assume a normal position when they enter the next depressions. Such fingers 25 embody part of the ratchet means herein disclosed and claimed. Thus, the rela tionship between the stopper and valve, that is, the valve seat 13 in the projection 12 of the stopper 11, and the to. the. nipple to stem 18, 19, of the valve 15, is to pre-determine the flow rate, and the ratchet members 25, when seated in the depressions 23, hold the parts in this position so that the flowrate. remains constant.

'order toholdthe 'nipple 14 and the stopperiin proper: position in a bottle 10, there is-provided ,aj'cap 28 preferably having-an air vent passageway 29., This air vent overlies an annular groove 30 in the stopper-11 adjacent the tubular projection; 12.; At least one air vent or pass'ageway3l passes through-the stopper in a manner such that the air vents 29 and-31 are in communication with each other andwith the inside of the bottles; 7

' The foregoing device preferably is made pf any suitable plastic material, although it will be understood that other equivalent materialthat serve the purpose can be'utilized in. the construction thereof;

'In operation, after the bottle 10"has been filled with liquid, the Valve member-.15 may be rotated in such a manner that theUfingers LZS will seat in any selected depression or cup 23 so that it will at once be obvious that any desired amount of liquid canbe caused to flow through the valve between a fully opened or closed position. V 1

'A nipple 14 is then ap plied to the tubular member, thefstop'per placed. in 'thelbottle andthe cap 28 applied hold the same together with the stopper in position; f

' It should 'be noted that after thebottle has been emptied of its contents, and it is still desired to allow the infant to use the same as a pacifier, the cap and stopper can be removed, the valve member fully rotated to a closed position and the bottle recapped. This will prevent air from passing through the nipple and eliminate colic. ,Also, since thestem 18 and the tapered portion 19 are advanced almost fully into the end of the nipple when the valve is closed, there will be little possibility of the collapsing .of the nipple such as often occurs when conventional nipples have been put to considerable use and weakened, which often results in air passing along the sides of the nipple into the infants mouth causing colic." As a further assurance against collapsing, conventionalnipples may be altered so that they have a thickened end portion as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawing. f i

It will thus been seen that the objects 'hereinbefore set forth'may readily and efiiciently be attained, and since certainchanges may be made in the above article and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter. contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

bottle, the improvement comprising a valve stopper hav I ing an intermediate flange member to abut and seal the peripheral edge around the mouth opening of the neck of said bottle and to limit the distance to which said stopper will penetrate the same; a cylindrical integral stopper portion extending from one side of said flange snugly to fit inside the neck of, said bottle; a pair of oppositely disposed helicoidal segments at the free end of said cylindrical stopper portion to extend within the neck of said bottle; an integral tubularprojection extending from the other side of said flange in a direction opposite said cylindrical portion and CQZXliil therewlth;

' a tapered valve seat terminating within the end of said tubular projection, said cylindrical "stopper portion having a central longitudinal bore communlcatlng with said tubular projection and coaxial therewith; a valve member having an intermediate cylindrical portion rotatably mounted in such a way that;rot ation thereof causes longitudinal movement thereof; in said bore of said stopper, and having at least one openingtherethrough communicating with"said"tubularjprojection for the passage of liquid therethrough from said bottle; a valve stem projecting fromone endof said cylindrical portion of said valve member-into said tubular projection and coaxially' movable withrespect thereto, said stem terminating in'a tapered portion adapted to be brought into and out of engagement with said valve seat; and ratchet means projecting from the opposite end of said cylindrical por-- tion, including a pair of oppositely disposed resilient ratchet'memhers,fof a size also to extend within the neck of said bottle onthe'o'ther end of said valve member, cooperatively to contact and follow the surfaces of said helicoidal segments, whereby rotation of said ,valve mem- 'Having described my invention what I claim as new 7 her will cause coaxial movement thereof and of said valve stem within said stopperand tubular projection to open said valve to a predetermined position as said tapered portion is moved away from saidvalve seat or to close said valve when said tapered portion is m'oved against said seat,jsaid resilient members' holding said valve'member in saidpredetermined position between open and closed condition so that the selected 'flow rate between valve 7 seat and stem will remain constant.

erativelyrto associate said members with said depressions, I

References Cited in the file of this patent I UNITED STATES PATENTS 808,278 Evans 2 Dec. 26,1905

990,662 MacGlashan Apr. 25, 1911 1,424,862 Uredenburgh Aug. 8, 1922 2,616,581 Madsen et a1 ..Nov. 4, 1952 2,669,234

Baracate Feb. 16, 1954 

